Getting Started

Accessing Google Docs

Your Google Docs homepage is where you can create, upload, organize, and manage your documents and collections. To access your Google Docs homepage, just click Documents located at the top of your Rebelmail page, or, go directly to http://www.docs.google.com/a/unlv.nevada.edu.

Click an area of the image below to learn about the different sections of the Google Docs Homepage (Firefox, Chrome, and Safari Only).

Searching in Google Docs

Enter your search terms and click Search Docs to find specific files. To search within a specific collection, select the collection first before entering your search term. You can also use search operators to narrow your search.

Browse the Template Gallery

Click Browse template gallery to find a wide variety of template submitted by other Rebelmail users or by the public to create your document, spreadsheet, presentation, or form.

Create New and Upload Files

Click Create New to create Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations that you can edit online and share with others. Click Upload to store existing files into your Docs List.

Navigation Pane

The navigation pane lists all of your collections (which works like folders) and contains links to help you find your documents.

Home: Include all of your files and documents, except for those hidden from the home view and in the Trash.

Starred: This view lists all files that you have tagged with a star.

All Items: This view lists all of your files and documents, including those hidden from the home view, but not those in the Trash.

Trash: This view lists all of the files and documents that you have moved to the trash.

My collections: This view lists all of the collections that you have created. Collections act like folder; it helps you organize related items. Click Create new and select Collection from the drop-down menu to create a new collection.

Collections shared with me: This view lists collections that others have shared with you.

Your Docs List

The Docs List displays all of your files and documents. Use the top panel to narrow down your search by document types, images and videos, or by file visibility and ownership. Next to the title of each document, you can see the collection that it is in and whether or not it is shared with other.

Detail Pane

The detail pane appears when you select a file from your Docs List. Here, you can view when the document was last modified or view, modify the document's sharing settings and which collections it is associated with, and manage the different versions of the documents.

Create, Upload, and Download

Create a Presentation

Create Blank Presentations

From your Google Docs homepage, click on the Create button and select Presentation from the drop-down menu.

The new presentation opens in a new browser tab or window. Click Untitled Presentation at the top of the screen to bring up the rename presentation window.

Enter a new presentation name and click OK. Now you are ready to edit your presentation.

Create Presentations from Templates

From your Docs List, click on the Create button and select From template from the drop-down menu to access the Template Gallery.

In the Template Gallery, you can choose from template created by Google Docs users (Public Template) or by Rebelmail users (University of Nevada, Las Vegas Templates). Use the links on the left sidebar to narrow your search.

Click Preview to preview the template in a new tab or window. Once you have located the template of your choice, click Use this template and a copy of the template is created and added to your Docs List ready for editing.

Organize Your Docs With Collections

Collections in Google Docs act similar to folders on your computer. Collections allow you to organize your files and documents in a meaningful way. To create a collection, do the following:

From your Google Docs homepage, click on the Create button and select Collection from the drop-down menu.

Enter a name for your collection and click OK.

The collection you created now appears under the My collections section. If you want to create a sub-collection (collection within a collection), use the arrow to the right of your collection and select Create > Collection from the drop-down menu.

Auto Save and Revision History

Spreadsheets created in Google Docs are automatically saved every time changes are made. You can see when your document was last saved by looking at the save status at the upper right corner of the screen.

Google Docs keeps a revision history of your presentations, so that you can revert to an earlier version of your presentation at any time. To revert to a presentation to a previous version, do the following:

Open your presentation, click File and select See revision history from the drop-down menu.

A list of the presentation's revisions is displayed along with the time it was last edited and the changes that were made.

Once you have found the version that you would like to revert to, click on the revision numberto see a preview of the revision.

Click Revert to this version. Now when you or your collaborators open the presentation, they will see the version that you have restored to.

Note: Anyone with editing access can restore your presentation to a different revision.

Upload Files and Folders into Google Docs

If you have existing documents that you created in Microsoft PowerPoint, you can upload them into your Docs List for storage, or, convert them into Google Presentations format and edit them online. Files converted into Google Presentations format cannot exceed 10MB in size, and must be in one of these formats: Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx, .pps).

Note: Google Docs converts your presentations during uploading, and some formatting may be lost during the conversion process.

Upload Files From Your Computer

From your Google Docs homepage, click on the Upload button and select Files from the drop-down menu.

From the File Upload window, select one-or-more files to upload and click Open.

Select your upload settings. If you would like to be able to edit the document online, check the box next to Convert documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and drawings to the corresponding Google Docs format.

Instead of uploading individual files, you can save time by uploading folders into Google Docs. When you upload a folder, all sub-folders and files within that folder will be maintained. (Skip ahead to step 4 if you are using Google Chrome).

The Enable folder upload window appears. Click Install applet. When the applet is installed successfully, you will see the message Java Applet installed at the top of the page. Note: You will need to install the applet each time you sign out or close your browser.

Click the Upload button and select Folder from the drop-down menu.

Select a folder and click Open.

Select your upload settings. If you would like to be able to edit the document online using Google Docs, check the box next to Convert documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and drawings to the corresponding Google Docs format.

When you have selected your upload settings, click Start upload to upload your folder into your Docs List. All sub-folders and files within that folder will be uploaded as well.

Download Presentations to Your Computer

There are times when you cannot be online and signed in to Google Docs to make simple edits to your presentations. You can prepare for those times by saving a local copy of your presentation to your computer for editing using Microsoft Office. You can download a copy of your presentation to your computer by doing the following:

Open your presentation, click File and Select Download as from the drop-down menu.

Select from one of the download formats: PDF, PowerPoint, Text (.txt) and click OK.

Insert, Edit, and Print

Select a Theme or Insert a Background Image

You can select from one of Google's presentation theme or select your own set of background image for your presentation.

Select a Theme

From your presentation, click Slide and select Change theme from the drop-down menu.

Click on the theme to add it to your presentation.

Select Your Own Background Image

From your presentation, click Slide and select Background from the drop-down menu. The Background window appears.

Click on the Choose button.

Click on the Choose an image to upload button to browse for an image on your computer.

Click on the Apply to all button if you want to apply the image to all slides in your presentation.

Click Done when you are finished.

Insert, Duplicate, and Delete Slides

You can add, delete, and duplicate slides by clicking on Slide and selecting from New slide, Duplicate slide, or Delete slide.

Insert Videos and Images

You can enhance your presentations by inserting a YouTube video or an image. To insert a video or an image, do the following:

Insert Images

Upload: Click Choose an image to upload to select an image from your computer and click Upload.

URL: Enter the URL of an image you found on the Web and click Select.

Google Image Search: Enter a search term to locate an image using Google Image Search and click Search Images. When you have located the image that you are looking for, select the image and click Select.

Picasa Web Albums: If you have images uploaded to your Rebelmail account's Picasa Web Album, select the image and click Select. You can also use the search function to find images from within your Picasa Web Album.

Stock photos: Enter your search in the box to locate an image from the stock photography archive.

Insert Tables

Adding tables are a great way to organize information in your document. You can add tables to your document by doing the following:

Open you document, click anywhere on the document where you want the table to appear.

Click Tables, select Insert Table from the drop-down menu.

Select the number of rows and columns to insert the table.

Once you have inserted your table, you can add rows or columns by doing the following:

Select a cell that you wish to add a row or column next to.

Click Table and select from one the Insert options from the drop-down menu.

Insert Drawings

Google Docs has a built-in application called Google Drawing that allows you to add shapes, lines, and word art objects into your document. To add a drawing in your document, do the following:

Open your document, click Insert and select Drawing from the drop-down menu.

The Google drawing window appears. Create your drawing using the tools from toolbar.

When you have completed your drawing, click Save and Close. The image will now appear in your document.

If you created a drawing within the standalone Google Drawing application (From Docs List, click Create new > Drawing) and would like to insert it into your document, just open the image using Google Drawing and select Copy entire drawing to web clipboard. Now you can paste the image into any Google Documents.

Print Your Presentation

If you need a hard copy of your spreadsheet, you can use the print function to create a PDF, which may then be saved or printed like a typical PDF file. To print your spreadsheets, do the following:

Open the presentation you wish to print, click File and select Print from the drop-down menu. The Print preview window appears.

Select the print layout and settings and click Print. A PDF version of the presentation will open up with your computer's default PDF application (Adobe Reader for PC and Preview for Mac) ready for printing.

Share, Collaborate, and Publish

Share a Doc With Specific Individuals

You can limit access to your docs to specific individuals by do the following:

Click Share in the top right corner of your doc to bring up the Sharing settings window.

Click the white box under Add people and enter the Rebelmail addresses of the people you would like to invite. You can also click Choose from contacts to select people in your Rebelmail contact list.

Next to the e-mail addresses, choose from the following access level:

Can edit: Invitees can add and edit content in your doc.

Can comment: Invitees can view your document and add comments without being able to change the content of the document directly.

Can view: Invitees can access a read-only version of the doc. They can print the doc but cannot make any changes.

Optionally, add a message to your invitation and click Share & save. An e-mail invitation will be sent to the invitees.

Share a Doc With Google Groups

If you are a part of a Google Group, you can share a doc with group members through the group's e-mail address. As people are removed from or added to the group, access to the doc is adjusted accordingly. To share a doc with a Google Group, do the following:

Click Share in the top right corner of your doc to bring up the Sharing settings window.

Click the white box under Add people and enter the address of the Google Group that you would like to invite.

Next to the e-mail addresses, choose from the following access level:

Can edit: Group members can add and edit content in your doc.

Can comment: Group members can view your document and add comments without being able to change the content of the document directly.

Can view: Group members can access a read-only version of the doc. They can print the doc but cannot make any changes.

Make sure Notify people via email is checked.

Optionally, add a message to your invitation and click Share & save. An e-mail invitation will be sent to the group.

Note: If group members do not see the shared doc in their Docs List, have them click on the link in the e-mail invitation.

Share a Doc with Everyone

You can share your doc with a large group of people by changing its visibility options. To change a doc's visibility options, do the following:

Click Share in the top right corner of your doc to bring up the Sharing settings window.

Click Change under Who has access.

Select from one of these four visibility options that best suit your needs:

If you would like to give everyone edit access, check the box next to Allow anyone to edit.

Click Save. You will be presented with a link at the top of window that you can share via e-mail or IM. Depending on the visibility option you selected, people accessing the presentation might need to sign in with their Rebelmail account.

Edit a Presentation Together

Google Docs enables multiple people in different locations to work on the same presentation simultaneously. All changes made to the presentation are in real-time, so all of the collaborators can see them and respond to them immediately. Before collaborators can work on a presentation together, all collaborators need to have editing access to the presentation. To start collaborating on a presentation together, just open the same presentation from each individual's Docs List. During your collaborative session, keep these tips in mind:

When you and another collaborator are editing a presentation simultaneously, a box with the name of the collaborators appears at the upper-right corner top of the toolbar.

You can share a presentation with up to 200 individuals. A maximum of 10 people can edit and/or view a presentation at the same time.

Start Your Presentation

You can start your presentation and invite up to 10 people to view it with you simultaneously. To start your presentation, click on the Start presentation button located at the upper-right corner of the screen. You can use your keyboard's arrow keys or the onscreen keys to move back-and-forth between slides.